Tipping apparatus for a signature gathering machine

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for the tipping of inserts or supplements onto a plurality of signatures on a signature gathering device. The apparatus includes a transport device for conveying the signatures, a plurality of signature feeding devices, an insert feeding device, ad a device for adjusting the position of each insert relative to the assembled signatures.

O United States Paten 1151 3,663,007 Preiter 1 May 16, 1972 [s41 TIPPING APPARATUS FOR A 2,577,261 12/1951 Moser ..270/57 SIGNATURE GATHERING MACHINE FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 72 Inventor: Alfred Preiter Au sbur ,German 1 g g y 174,735 2/1922 Great Britain ..270/55 [73] Assignee: Grapha Maschinenfabrik Hans Muller AG,

Zofingen, Germany Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell [22] Filed: May 7 1970 Assistant ExaminerL.Orem1and Attorney--William D. Hall, Elliott I. Pollock, Fred C. Philpitt, PP -I ,447 George Vande Sande, Charles F. Steininger and Robert R.

Priddy [52] [1.8. CI ..270/55 511 Int. Cl ..B65h 5/30 1 ABSTRACT [58] Fleld of Search ..270/53, 54, 55, 57 Apparatus for the tipping ofinserts or supplements onto a rality of signatures on a signature gathering device. The ap- [56] References cued paratus includes a transport device for conveying the signa- UNITED STATES PATENTS tures, a plurality of signature feeding devices, an insert feeding device, ad a device for adjusting the position of each insert 3,162,434 12/1964 Hepp ..270/57 relative to the assembled signatures 3,032,336 5/1962 Heigl et al... .....270/53 3,087,721 4/1963 McCain ..270/54 9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures INVENTOR ALFRED PREITE BYA/a; PM! lbw 4.1-

PATENTEDMAY 16 m2 3 663 1307 mm 5 [IF 6 INVENTOR ALFRED PREITE-R lay/Au, FM: WXM

PATENTEDMAY 16 m2 3. 663 007 sum 5 or e FIG. 6

IN VEN TOR ALFRED PREITER TIPPING APPARATUS FOR A SIGNATURE GATHERING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention concerns the insertion of inserts or supplements in flat products, for example a plurality of signatures which are sewn on a collecting device for binding printed pages and which has a transport device and at least one device for binding printed pages, which latter moves, periodically, alternately in or against the direction of transportation, the collecting device for binding printed pages having at least two feed stations in each case for individual feed of the individual sheets.

Until today, special insertion machines, only employable for the insertion of inserts into products of printing works such as printed volumes, have been necessary. Such machines are relatively expensive. Insertion by hand is also widespread, but this requires a considerable number of workers to deal with the output of a normal device for collecting and binding printed pages which may involve as many as 9,000 sewings or staplings per hour.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to provide apparatus which makes unnecessary the manual insertion and also the use of a special expensive inserting machine. The apparatus may be used, for example, with a known collecting and binding device for printed papers.

According to the invention, there is provided a device for feeding loose inserts or supplements into flat products or signatures of a collecting and binding device having a plurality of feed mechanisms. The individual feed mechanisms have two discharge drums rotating in opposite directions which discharge the folded individual sheets of the product in the opened-out state, with the inner fold discharged onto a transport chain or onto a rail arranged thereabove. At least one of the feed mechanisms normally used to feed the individual sheets feeds loose inserts or supplements to the product. A catching device extending in a direction of transportation and adjustable in its position in relation to the product is provided for the inserts discharged. The catching device guides the inserts or supplements into their determined and pre-adjustable position in relation to the product.

In one embodiment, a signature or a group of signatures is brought onto a transport device, the insert is then laid on the first signature or group of signatures and further transported with the first signature or group of signatures. Finally, a further signature of group of signatures is laid on, the sewing or stapling of all the signatures subsequently taking place, the supplement remaining unsewn or unbound. After the sewing of the product, the insert is displaced in relation to the individual signatures of the product before the product is edged or trimmed.

The apparatus of the embodiment makes possible an insertion of supplements without additional labor expense in products which are collected and sewn by means of a known device for collecting and binding signatures. Only a few simple additional parts are required for incorporation in the known collecting and binding device, and these can be produced at such a favorable price that the cost is soon regained on using the additional appliances. This applies even in the case of small editions of printed product or products. The operational speed of the machine is not affected by the insertion of the insert or inserts. v

The displacement of the insert, after sewing of the product, against or in relation to the individual signatures thereof, guarantees that the insert is always arranged with its side edges at a sufficient distance from the edges of the sewn printed product. This is important, in order that on the trimming of the edges after the sewing or stapling of the product the side parts of the insert are not trimmed along with those of the signatures.

It has proved an advantage that the insert is held, after displacement, in the position to which it has been displaced, until the whole product together with the insert is brought into a position in which the insert no longer displaces in relation to the product. In this way, it is ensured that the insert remains in the desired and adjusted position up to the end state of the ready-trimmed product.

It has further proved to be an advantage that the device for the displacement of the insert comprise a lever, adapted to pivot around a stationary point, designed resiliently springy transverse to 'its pivotal plane and to operate periodically. It is further proposed that the lever is adapted to be moved periodically by means of an operating member connected to the sewing device. This operating member may, with advantage, be a roller, adapted to roll, firmly secured to a part of the sewing device moving periodically. It is also possible for the operating member to be a magnet operable periodically. It has further proved an advantage for the lever to have a spring member which is suitably designed for the transmission of the operating impulses from the operating member to the lever. Such spring member may with advantage be a leaf spring. According to a further feature of the invention, it is proposed that the lever has a return spring which is suitably designed to rest the lever against a fixed stop. In this way, the lever is provided with an accurate initial position for each pivotal process.

The invention further proposes that the member operating the lever is adjustable in position. Due' to this adjustability as to position, the displacement track of the insert can be adjusted to the product to be bound. The adjustment can, for example, according to a further feature of the invention, take place in that the pivotal point of the lever and thereby the relationship of the arm of the lever is adjustable. The means for the adjustment of the relationship of the arm of the lever may be, for example, an elongated hole extending in the longitudinal direction of the lever.

IBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment, by way of example only, of a device according to the invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic total view of a collecting and binding device for printed signatures having a device according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the part of the apparatus shown at A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevation, partly in section, along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged representation of the part of the collecting, binding and inserting device shown at B in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an elevation, partly in section, along the line 5-5 in FIGS. 1 and 4; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the head piece of the pivotal lever.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, a collecting and binding device 1 having a transport chain 2 has five spaced feed stations C, D, E, F, G, arranged above the transport chain. Various signatures of the printed product are fed from the feed stations or feeder mechanisms C, E, F, G in such a manner to the transport chain 2, that, as illustrated with the group of signatures 3 shown in FIG. 3, they rest with their fold on the transport chain 2. The various signatures are discharged onto the transport chain 2 by drums 4 and 5, indicated schematically in FIG. 3, which rotate in opposite directions.

The drums shown in FIG. 3, which belong to the feed station D serve to discharge the insert 6. Drums rotating in opposite directions are also arranged in the same manner as shown in FIG. 3 at the remaining feed stations C, E, F, and G.

In the embodiment shown by way of example only, the first signature 3 is discharged from the feed station C onto the transport chain 2 and then transported to the feed station D. At D, the insert 6 is added, and at the remaining feed stations E, F, and G further signatures (not shown individually) are discharged above the first signature 3 and the insert 6 which completes the group of signatures 21 shown in FIG. 5. The in-- sert is so displaced by the binding device shown in FIG. 1 at the left-hand end of the collecting and binding device, that the side edges are not trimmed during the trimming process following the binding process.

The arrangement of the first signature 3 and of the insert 6 can be seen from FIG. 3. After the signature 3 has been brought onto the transport chain 2 by the feed station C and transported to the feed station D, the insert 6 is discharged at D into a catching rail 7. A guide device 8 is arranged below the drum 4 and is pivotable on holders 8a around a pivot pin 8b. The guide device leads into a rail 9 which has its back upwardly directed, and which is arranged above the transport chain 2 and above the signature 3. The guide device 8, and also the holders 8a, serve to control the discharge of the insert 6 into the catching rail 7 accurately and reliably.

The guide device is of particular importance when instead of a single sheet insert, i.e. instead of a so-called broadsheet, a multi-layered, for example a folded insert, is to be fed. For feeding broadsheets the guide device 8 may in some circumstances be unnecessary.

A catching pocket 10 is further provided which is adjustable in height by means of set screws 11 and 12 and by means of elongated holes 13 and 14 arranged in the base part of the catching pocket 10. The set screws 11 and 12 project with their threads into threaded holes provided in adjustment bars 15 and 16. The adjustment bars themselves are adapted to be displaced axially and arrested in clamp-screw connections firmly connected to the collecting and binding device 1. The adjustment bar 16 may be adjusted in height by means of the screw-connection 17. The catching rail 7 is firmly connected to the adjustment bars and can be regulated in height by means of the adjustment bars.

A hold-down rib 18 extending horizontally is adjustable on the adjustment bars transversely to their longitudinal axes and can be arrested or held on the adjustment bars by means of a set screw 19 at the height desired. The hold-down rib serves to prevent the signature 3 fed at C, before the feed station D, from spreading open.

The first signature 3 is displaced from the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, together with the insert 6, by the driver 20 secured on the transport chain 2, first to the feed station E and then to the further feed stations F and G. The second, third, and fourth signatures, which complete the group 21, are discharged at the feed stations or mechanisms E, F, and G onto the transport chain 2 and after the feed station G are pushed by means of the driver 20 to the binding device indicated purely schematically at B in FIG. 1. After the binding has taken place and after the whole product contains the insert, the insert is displaced in relation to the individual signatures or groups of signatures by means of a mechanism shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the example shown in relation to the signature 3 and the group of signatures 21. The mechanism causing this displacement is so adjusted that the adjustment takes place substantially up to the middle between the edges 22 and 23 of the product to be bound.

An elevation of the displacement mechanism is shown in FIG. 4. The said mechanism consists in the main of a lever 24 which is pivotably mounted on a stationary part of thecollecting and binding device 1. The lever 24 is designed to be resilient transverse to its plane of movement. It has a bent spring 25 at its lower end. The displacement mechanism further consists of an operating roller 27 connected to the binding head 26 running forward and backward periodically. The lever 24 is drawn by return spring 28 against an adjustable stop 29. The operating roller 27 is rotatably mounted on a shaft fixedly connected to a part of the binding head 26. The lever 24 projects through a slot in the catching rail 7 and terminates in a wedge-shaped head piece which rests resiliently,

with its edge projecting furthest in the direction of the center of the transport chain, against the inner wall of the catching rail 7. The head piece 33 is shown enlarged in FIG. 6. The lever 24 has an elongated hole 32, so that its lever arm relationship is adjustable. It carries a bent leaf spring 25 at its lower end.

So that the lever 24 is not obstructed in the holding-down rib 18, an aperture is provided in the holding-down rib 18 which makes possible a pivotal movement of the lever 24 within the desired measurement.

The operating roller 27 and the lever 24 are shown in FIG. 4 at a moment directly before the commencement of the displacement of the insert 6. In the view shown in FIG. 4, for the sake of clarity, the uppermost group of signatures 21 is omitted just as in FIG. 1 at B. The operating roller 27 moves from the position shown in FIG. 4 together with the binding head part 26 to the right up to the position shown in chaindotted line, at the same time the lever 24 is pivoted in its upper part, i.e. above its pivot pin 31, to the left at a speed which is greater than the speed of the transport chain 2. In this way, the lever 24 moves the insert 6 in relation to the individual signatures of the product to be bound and in fact by the amount desired in accordance with the adjustment of the lever arm relationship.

By means of the resilient design of the lever, it is possible that the insert can be pushed past, by the driver 20, the edge of the head piece 33 normally resting on the inner edge of the catching rail 7. Due to the wedge-shaped design of the head piece, the lever 24 is curved away, transverse to its pivotal plane, from the transport chain and the catching rail and the insert slides past the head piece. After the insert has passed the head piece, the edge of the latter again rests on the inner side of the catching rail 7.

After the displacement, the insert 6 is firmly held in its displaced position, i.e. substantially in the middle between the edges 22 and 23 of the printed product, by means of a press-on rail. This press-on rail extends substantially parallel to the transport chain 2 and is resiliently mounted. The insert is firmly held in the product by the springiness until the whole product together with the insert is located in a horizontal position. The insert 6 can, in the horizontal position, no longer be displaced from the predetermined position.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for tipping inserts on a signature gathering device comprising in combination,

a transport device for carrying a plurality of signatures,

a plurality of signature feeding devices at spaced locations along said transport device each discharging a folded signature in an at least partially opened state onto said transport device,

insert feeding means at an inserting stage between an adjacent pair of signature feeding locations for individually feeding inserts onto the signatures already assembled thereat as said assembled signatures are brought by said transport device to the location of said insert feeding means,

insert catching means at said inserting stage,

and insert adjusting means operable upon each feeding of an insert onto the assembled signatures by said insert feeding means for moving only said insert a predetermined amount relative to said signatures and in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of said transport device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said transport device conveys said signatures in a horizontal direction, both said signature feeding devices and said insert feeding means feeding said signatures and said inserts respectively in a vertical direction, and said adjusting means adjusting the horizontal position of said insert relative to said signatures.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said insert catching means comprises a rail extending in the direction of movement of said signatures by said transport device.

device having a driver part moving in translation and periodically acting to revolve said lever.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 in which said driver part comprises a rotatable roller.

8. The apparatus of claim 4 which further includes a spring connected to said lever for restoring said lever to an initial position after its motion to adjust the position of said insert.

9. The apparatus of claim 4 which further includes means for adjusting the pivot point of said lever.

* I t t 

1. Apparatus for tipping inserts on a signature gathering device comprising in combination, a transport device for carrying a plurality of signatures, a plurality of signature feeding devices at spaced locations along said transport device each discharging a folded signature in an at least partially opened state onto said transport device, insert feeding means at an inserting stage between an adjacent Pair of signature feeding locations for individually feeding inserts onto the signatures already assembled thereat as said assembled signatures are brought by said transport device to the location of said insert feeding means, insert catching means at said inserting stage, and insert adjusting means operable upon each feeding of an insert onto the assembled signatures by said insert feeding means for moving only said insert a predetermined amount relative to said signatures and in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of said transport device.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said transport device conveys said signatures in a horizontal direction, both said signature feeding devices and said insert feeding means feeding said signatures and said inserts respectively in a vertical direction, and said adjusting means adjusting the horizontal position of said insert relative to said signatures.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said insert catching means comprises a rail extending in the direction of movement of said signatures by said transport device.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said adjusting means comprises a lever revolvable about a pivot and means for revolving said lever about its pivot for each insert fed by said insert feeding means onto said assembled signatures, said lever having a portion thereof which moves said insert relative to said signatures.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 in which said revolvable lever is resiliently spring in a direction transverse to its plane of turning.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 which further includes a binding device having a driver part moving in translation and periodically acting to revolve said lever.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 in which said driver part comprises a rotatable roller.
 8. The apparatus of claim 4 which further includes a spring connected to said lever for restoring said lever to an initial position after its motion to adjust the position of said insert.
 9. The apparatus of claim 4 which further includes means for adjusting the pivot point of said lever. 